Catalyst or missed opportunity?
Convention centre a lightning rod for opinions
By CHRIS LAMBIE Business Editor
Thu, Oct 14 - 4:53 AM
A Rank Inc. drawing of what the convention centre may look like.
Halifax’s proposed convention centre was panned Wednesday as an underground bunker and praised as the catalyst for reviving a flagging downtown.
The provincial government’s decision to go ahead with funding its portion of the convention centre didn’t have the head of developer Rank Inc. planning a party.
"Really, there is no celebration," Joe Ramia said. "There is still lots to do."
The estimated $500-million project on the former Halifax Herald Ltd. property would also include a hotel and an office tower.
"I think this project will not only invigorate our city, but it is one that will act as a catalyst for further downtown development," Ramia said. "And it will spur economic growth in the whole province."
EllisDon Corp., which has an office in Halifax, would be the main contractor for the project, which is expected to take 3½ to four years to complete. Excavation could start as soon as next month and construction could begin by January.
Some critics are cringing over details of the proposal.
"It’s a big opportunity missed for the city," said Keith Tufts, a principal at Lydon Lynch Architects in Halifax.
"A purpose-built convention centre or a design that spoke more specifically to a convention centre and a cultural centrepiece for the city would be a better undertaking than what’s being proposed on that location, which is essentially a convention centre in a bunker."
Ramia said there’s room for the project’s design to be tweaked.
"What we have presented is very preliminary," he said. "We are looking forward to the opportunity of working with our stakeholders, our neighbours, and the community, the province and the city in defining the collective aspiration for this new facility.
"We have the best people in the convention business in the world working with us on this project."
Those include the U.S. firms Conventional Wisdom, of Florida, and Populous, of Missouri, as well as local designer Noel Fowler, who once worked for Lydon Lynch.
The region’s largest landlord was pleased with the province’s decision to back the convention centre.
"The convention centre for Halifax is generally a good thing," said Robert Richardson, vice-president and chief financial officer of Killam Properties Inc.
"Although we have properties in Halifax that may find competition in the new convention centre, I believe overall it’s better for the region and will attract more businesses so that everybody benefits."
Halifax should be "the jewel of Atlantic Canada," Richardson said. "This is a step in the right direction."
Others characterized it as a misstep.
"People saying it will spur development just don’t know what they’re talking about," said Armour Group chairman Ben McCrea, who built Halifax’s existing convention centre.
"Three hundred thousand square feet of new office space is part of this complex; (that’s) the absorption for at least five years."
McCrea also questioned whether the project would boost the province’s economy.
"If I was really smart I would find a home for investment outside Nova Scotia, because I think we’re going to pay for some of this," he said.
Bar baron Victor Syperek is of two minds on the proposed convention centre-hotel-office tower complex.
"The idea of kind of a focal point downtown is great, to have a new block of shops and things, because right now it’s pretty barren," said Syperek, who owns the Economy Shoe Shop complex and the Seahorse Tavern on Argyle Street.
"I do object to them blocking the view (from Citadel Hill) but it seems inevitable that’s going to happen. And also, if they turned the building sideways, it wouldn’t block the view so badly."
Construction is sure to hamper business on Argyle Street, Syperek said.
"It will be very disruptive for three years of construction," he said. "I’m just worried about the dust and the noise. They have such an enormous rock to move from there."
Syperek had a novel suggestion for what to do with the construction debris.
"They’re going to bring out millions of tonnes of rock and they have to dispose of it," he said. "Why don’t they build a breakwater in front of Bishop’s Landing and the Halifax waterfront and build a marina down there?"
The convention centre would help "kick-start the economy of downtown Halifax and Nova Scotia in general," said Luc Erjavec, the Atlantic vice-president of the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association.
"It will help us create a vibrant downtown and help create a vibrant economy in Nova Scotia," he said. "We’re all for it."
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